Minimizing the Real Cost of a Speeding Ticket-Part I

     You receive a traffic ticket, sign the back, pay the fine and it’s over with.  No big deal-right?  Wrong!  This is just the beginning of a chain of events that can have a significant effect on your privilege to drive and your wallet.  The days of twenty-dollar speeding tickets are gone forever.  Depending on your driving history and the speed involved tickets can range from $150.00 to more than one thousand dollars.  Receive a ticket in a construction zone and see the fines doubled.  You may be in the way to a suspension of your license.  Your auto insurance rate is going up too.

     If you accumulate only six (6) points in an 18-month period, you probably won't have your license suspended, but you will be subject to a "Driver Responsibility Assessment"―a fine paid once a year for three years to the DMV.  The fine runs $100 a year for six points plus $25 a year for each additional point, for three years.  Alcohol or drug-related traffic violations cost $250 a year for three years.  If a driver's points total reaches eleven (11) or more points a mandatory 31-day, suspension (for first time suspension) will be imposed unless the driver asks for a "license suspension hearing.”  At such a hearing, you can dispute the accuracy of the DMV's records.  Unless some problem in record keeping has occurred the typical result is that your driving privileges will be suspended for anywhere from 31 days to one year.

     Our best advise-Slow Down!  This is the absolute best advice we can give you about driving.  In our practice, a week does not go by without a call from someone about a speeding ticket.  We are asked: What should I do now?  Do I really need an attorney?  The thing not to do is to plead guilty by signing the ticket sending it to the Court.  Our experience is that most town courts and local prosecutors will agree to a reduction in charges leading to fewer or no points.  Can you navigate this process yourself, well, of course you can.  Can competent counsel improve your chances of minimizing exposure to the State’s draconian fines and penalties and insurance companies’ rate increases (more about insurance in Part II)—you bet!  Competent counsel will protect your rights, insure the ticket meets all the legal requirements and lacks any flaws that could result in dismissal.  Experienced counsel knows the practices of the Court and will be able to negotiate the least painful result.  Many times the Court is quite a distance from where you live and work.  Most Courts will allow attorneys to resolve a matter without an actual appearance by counsel or the charged individual.  This accommodation alone can result in quite a savings to you in time and expense. 

     So, when you receive the ticket, immediately contact counsel and discuss your options and the potential effects of tickets.  

     In Part II of this blog we will discuss the effect of speeding tickets on your ability to get and keep insurance and how insurance costs will be affected.  

     Currently New York assesses points as follows: 

·       Speeding

1-10 MPH over posted limit: 3 points

11-20 MPH over posted limit: 4 points

21-30 MPH over posted limit: 6 points

31-40 MPH over posted limit: 8 points

More than 40 MPH over posted limit: 11 points

·       Reckless driving: 5 points (this is a misdemeanor/crime that may result in a jail sentence)

·       Failing to stop for a school bus: 5 points

·       Following too closely (tailgating) 4 points

·       Inadequate brakes: 4 points

·       Inadequate brakes while driving an employer's vehicle: 2 points

·       Failing to yield right-of-way: 3 points

·       Violation involving a traffic signal, stop sign, or yield sign: 3 points

·       Railroad-crossing violation: 3 points

·       Improper passing, unsafe lane change, driving left of center, or driving in wrong direction: 3 points

·       Leaving the scene of an incident involving property damage or injury to a domestic animal: 3 points

·       Safety restraint violation involving a person under 16: 3 points

·       Any other moving violation: 2 points